1. Technical Field
This invention relates to firearms in general, and to magazine safeties for firearms in particular.
2. Background Information
Semi-automatic pistols typically include an ammunition magazine disposed in the handle portion of the pistol""s frame. Rounds of ammunition stored in the magazine are individually fed from the magazine into a firing chamber, where each round is fired. The magazine can be manually installed and removed from the firearm by the operator. Many gun manufacturers offer firearms that include a magazine safety that prevents the firearm from being fired if the magazine is not fully received within the magazine well. The magazine safety is principally designed to provide an additional safety mechanism to ensure that the firearm is safe regardless of whether the magazine is installed within the firearm or removed from the firearm.
According to the present invention, a magazine safety is provided for a semi-automatic firearm having a frame with a magazine well, a magazine, a slide, and a firing mechanism that includes a trigger bar. The magazine safety includes a latch and a latch bias. When the magazine is not received within the magazine well, the latch bias biases the latch into engagement with the trigger bar, thereby preventing the actuation of the firing mechanism via the trigger bar. Inserting the magazine completely into the magazine well causes the magazine to engage the latch and cause the latch to disengage the trigger bar, thereby preventing the latch from impeding movement of the trigger bar.
An advantage of the present invention is that the operating safety of the firearm is appreciably enhanced. The present invention safety provides an additional safety to ensure that the firearm is safe regardless of whether the magazine is installed within the firearm or removed from the firearm. A further advantage of the present invention is that the magazine safety is automatically engaged when the magazine is removed from the magazine well.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in light of the detailed description of the present invention.